Bullet-resistant formal wear

ABSTRACT

Bullet-resistant garments and methods of making the bullet-resistant garments to protect high profile individuals. Bullet-resistant panels are incorporated to a suit jacket, a blazer, a sports coat, a leather jacket, an over coat, or a top coat to protect specific areas of the body such as the upper torso. The upper torso is protected from the front and the back. The incorporation of panels in to the garments allows the user to remove the bullet-resistant material at the same time when removing the garment. Other features include having the bullet-resistant material to be removable from the garment to use the garment in the usual way without protection.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to bullet-resistant garments and methods of making bullet-resistant garments. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a bullet-resistant garment adapted to protect specific areas of the body such as the upper torso.

For the purposes of the present application the term “bullet-resistant” is intended to refer to being designed to minimize a fatality or a serious injury in the event of a bullet strike, flying shrapnel, or bomb fragments.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

People have been wearing formal wear suits for over a century. Sometimes, the people wearing the suits are either high profile personnel or they themselves are high profile individuals. In order to give people the protection against bomb fragments, shrapnel, or bullets, clothing is provided with bullet-resistant and/or bomb-resistant protection. The same protection will also provide knife-stabbing resistance. In order to combine the two very different products together, i.e., the formal wear suit and bullet-resistant protection, one must combine the tailoring of a formal wear suit and the engineering and sewing behind a bullet-resistant material. This is a very sophisticated process.

It is not common to combine a custom-tailored suit company with a bullet-resistant company, because the two are very different and serve a different market. We have successfully combined fashion and ballistics to produce a product that will help protect lives.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Various bullet-resistant garments have been produced in the past. One such type of conventional bullet-resistant garment is known as “soft body armor.” The soft body armor is typically formed of a relatively flexible material made from woven KEVLAR™ fibers or para-aramid synthetic fibers, which acts to provide the principal bullet-resistant characteristics of a garment.

Another type of conventional bullet-resistant garment is known as “hard body armor”. The hard body armor is typically formed of relatively inflexible material made from one or more ceramic plates carried in a pocket in the garment. In this type of body armor the relatively inflexible material acts to provide the principal bullet-resistant characteristics of the garment.

Examples of patents relating to such soft body armor and hard body armor include the following: U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,297 to Atkins (entitled “Bullet Resistant Ballistic Panel Carrier Garment”); U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,020 to Dunn (entitled “Projectile Proof Vest”); U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,491 to Rasmussen (entitled “Method Of Fitting A Ballistic Panel Carrying Garment”); U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,802 to Small (entitled “Adaptive Ballistic Panel Carrying Garment”); U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,105 to Sacks (entitled “Protective Garment”); U.S. Pat. No. 6,389,594 to Yavin (entitled “Anti-Ballistic Ceramic Articles”); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,832 to Colvin (entitled “Body Armor”).

The known conventional bullet-resistant vest is worn under a dress shirt, which can irritate one wearing the vest by the weight initiating perspiration. Being within the dress shirt there is no simple way to remove the conventional vest without undressing. With the bullet-resistant gear placed inside the jacket, not under the dress shirt, it is as simple as taking off the jacket. This allows one to look professional, reduce perspiration, and accommodate those who are required to wear bullet resistant gear.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a conventional, off-the-rack, or a custom-tailored garment such as a suit jacket, a blazer, a sports coat, a leather jacket, an over coat, or a top coat, having a bullet-resistant material integrated inside the garment for providing protection against firearm projectiles to the upper torso of the user. The bullet-resistant material is a soft armor, a hard armor, or both and is permanently sewn in or attached in the garment, or it could be removable from the garment. If removable, the garment can then be worn as a conventional or a custom-tailored suit jacket, blazer, sports coat, leather jacket, over coat, or top coat.

The present invention features a formal wear garment including a suit jacket, a blazer, a sports coat, a top coat, or an over coat that incorporates a bullet-resistant material that covers the upper torso from front to back. The incorporated bullet-resistant wraps around the upper torso, covering the back and the front of the user wearing the formal wear garment.

Today, with the increase in violence all over the world, company executives, military officials, government contractors, celebrities, or anyone who wears formal wear can use this product to protect themselves from bullets and bomb fragments. Depending on the weight of the bullet-resistant material chosen by the client, these garments may look like an everyday formal wear garment, while giving them the protection level they require.

Once the right fit of the suit has been determined, the tailor then cuts a lining of a jacket opening and inserts the bullet-resistant material. The bullet-resistant material will either stay in its place without a support or may need a shoulder support to maintain the shape of the jacket. The lining is then either closed off or a zipper is sewn into the jacket for an easier access to the bullet-resistant material. The jacket can be worn as a regular jacket if the bullet-resistant material is taken out or it can be used as a protective shield against bullets, bomb fragments, or knives.

One of the benefits of this invention is to help the government, politicians, celebrities, agencies, and executive feel safe and find a new way to be protected rather than wearing the same old heavy and hot bullet-resistant vests.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a front view of a tailored suit jacket showing a bullet proof material sewn within the jacket.

FIG. 1B shows a back view of the tailored suit jacket shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2A shows a front view of another embodiment of a tailored suit jacket.

FIG. 2B shows a back view of the tailored suit jacket shown in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 shows a profile of the back panel shown in FIG. 2B.

FIG. 4 shows a pair of profiles of the front panels shown in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 5 shows a front view of one of the pairs of shoulder supports.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows bullet-resistant front panels 1A, 1B cut to fit inside a jacket and placed between the main fabric and the lining. As additional or optional protection, the people requesting more of protection, panels 1C, 1D may be added or the panels 1A, 1B may be cut longer to cover the bottom half of the jacket and provide protection on a larger area. A standard bullet-resistant panel 1A, 1B will extend down to around this line 1E, 1F near the waistline. FIG. 1B shows a bullet-resistant back panel 1G of the jacket similarly placed between the main fabric and the lining. The panels 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D are made of Kevlar™ sealed in a fireproof, waterproof plastic cover and the plastic cover is sewn straight to the inside of the jacket, basically the lining. The plastic cover is made from nylon and polyurethane. A well-known brand called RipStop is being used as the plastic cover but of course other branded materials can be used that contain nylon and polyurethane. The panels than are sewn directly to the inner lining of the garment and permanently held in place between the lining and the main material.

FIG. 2A shows another embodiment of a bullet-resistant front panels 2A, 2B between the lining and the main fabric. Similarly as those panels shown in FIG. 1A, the panels may be cut longer to cover the bottom half 2C, 2D of the jacket and provide protection on a larger area and are made of Kevlar or similar bullet-proof material. The standard bullet-resistant panel will also come down to around this line 2E, 2F near a waistline. FIG. 2B shows a bull-resistant back panel 2G for the back of the torso. The back panel 2G is connected to the front panels 2A, 2B via shoulder supports 2H. The shoulder supports 2H are sewn into the panels 2A, 2B, 2G themselves. In particular, the shoulder supports 2H contain hook and loops material 2N at each end of the shoulder supports 2H, which connect to the mating portions 2M of the hook and loops that are sonic welded to a plastic cover from which the panels 2A, 2 b, 2G are made of. The shoulder supports 2H are straps that would be resting on shoulder portions of the garment. The hook and loops 2N, 2M can either be sewn or sonic welded or attached in any know manner to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 2B further contains an insertion opening 2K that is closed off by a zipper, a series of buttons, or an in-fold to close off the opening 2K. This insertion opening 2K allows the panels to be inserted or removed. Of course, other ways of closing the opening are envisioned as it becomes apparent to those skilled in the art. 

1. A garment comprising a formal wear suit jacket, a blazer, a sports coat, a leather jacket, an over coat, or a top coat integrating a bullet-resistant material to protect an upper torso of an individual wearing the garment.
 2. The garment of claim 1, wherein the bullet-resistant material is soft armor, hard armor, or both.
 3. The garment of claim 2, wherein the bullet-resistant material is a pair of front panels and a back panel.
 4. The garment of claim 2, wherein the bullet-resistant material is sewn into the garment.
 5. The garment of claim 2, wherein the garment has a shoulder support resting on each shoulder portion of the garment, inside the garment, holding the front panels and the back panels together.
 6. The garment of claim 5, wherein the shoulder support is a strap.
 7. The garment of claim 5, wherein the shoulder support is glued, sonic welded, or sewn into the bullet-resistant panels or a material of the garment.
 8. The garment of claim 5, wherein the shoulder support is a strap of hook and loops attaching the panels together.
 9. The garment of claim 3, wherein a zipper is integrated into a lining of the garment to easily insert or remove the bullet-resistant material and respectively turn the garment jacket into a regular formal wear or a protective shield.
 10. The garment of claim 9, wherein the zipper is located on the backside of the garment near the waistline.
 11. The garment of claim 3, wherein an in-fold is integrated into a lining of the garment forming an opening to easily insert or remove the bullet-resistant material.
 12. The garment of claim 11, wherein the in-fold is located on the backside of the garment near the waistline.
 13. The garment of claim 3, wherein the lining has a button-down opening to easily insert the bullet-resistant material.
 14. The garment of claim 13, wherein the button-down opening is located on the backside of the garment near the waistline.
 15. The garment of claim 13, wherein any of the panels extend beyond a waistline of the garment.
 16. The garment of claim 1, wherein the bullet-resistant material comprises panels made from para-aramid synthetic fibers protected with a cover made from nylon and polyurethane.
 17. The garment of claim 16, wherein the panels are sewn directly on a lining of the garment and the cover. 